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Saturday, March 19, 2011

The Greatest

Borrowing from the Iconic Photos Blog and in keeping with the theme from the previous week's image, this week also features something that has to do with sports. The historic photograph above was taken by Neil Leifer and shows the great Muhammad Ali standing over a knocked down Sonny Liston during their second fight for the WBA/WBC Heavyweight Championship held on May 25, 1965 in the city of Lewiston, Maine.

This photo has become one of the most iconic in boxing and in sports, and was chosen as the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine's "The Century's Greatest Sports Photos."

Growing up as a child, the name of Muhammad Ali was already legendary to me. While I had never watched an Ali bout before, I didn't have to when I saw this picture. Without knowing any details of any of his fights or his personal life, you can instantly guess the kind of man he was: a true athlete, a confident character, a real winner.

The fight was over within the second round of the match and many speculated that Liston threw the bout for different reasons, but regardless of how he went down, he was truly and utterly defeated that day. Liston lies helpless, looking up at the towering and powerful figure of Ali who seems to be screaming, "I am the greatest!"

Mr. Leifer's career as a photojournalist spans over 40 years, covering different sporting events for various Time, Inc. magazines. Even with all the other great photographs that he has taken, it is this one that has cemented his reputation as one of the greatest sports photographers of all time.

That is a good picture, captured the moment perfectly. On another note, a relative of mine (grandfathers brother maybe?) took a picture of a footballer and his teammate hugging after a game that's not an actual trophy given out. It's pretty awesome.